After years of planning, design, and development the Iowa Department of Transportation (IowaDOT) recently held a ribbon cutting event to celebrate the new I-80/380 interchange set to open soon.
The new interchange aims to eliminate safety concerns raised in the past about how people get on and off interstates, and is expected to bring economic opportunity to Eastern Iowa.
“Certainly taking out those old clover-leaf ramps and replacing them with higher-speed directional ramps makes for a much safer interchange. People don’t have to slow down.” said DOT Representative Cathy Cutler at the ribbon cutting ceremony.
The $380 million redesign is opening to the public months ahead of schedule.
“We’re very excited about the benefits of the traffic flow of semi traffic. Distribution, we expect distribution places to start looking at Tiffin as an ideal place, cause it’s right in the center of the country.” said Tiffin Mayor Steve Berner at the ceremony.
“We move a lot of grain, a lot of Iowa goods through this area, so just knowing that you can get through the area on time and that you won’t be delayed really helps boost economic development for the area.” said Cutler.
The ramp is expected to move more semi-trucks and other deliveries to their destinations more effectively.
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Source: KCRG 9 News
